Films round-up
Just a heads-up that I'm probably going to stop doing these soon, as they can become a chore sometimes and I use DreamWidth / LiveJournal less and less these days. Apologies to the three of you still reading! Anyway, for now, have another quick round-up:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - That kind of... left me cold. Waaay too much teenage angst, and not nearly enough laughs. Afterlife wasn't particularly a comedy either, but got away with it in a way this follow-up doesn't. The cast (again a mix of the original gang and the Afterlife newbies are likeable enough, and there are occasional highlights, but on the whole, bustin' did not make me feel good.
The Persian Version - Culture clashes abound in this semi-autobiographical story of a large and chaotic Iranian-American family. Layla Mohammadi is filmmaker Leila, struggling to deal with a career, an unexpected pregnancy, her father's heart attack, her mother's disapproval and learning about her family's secret history. It has a lot of serious points to make, but it's also bright, loud and funny at the same time.
Mothers' Instinct - Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain star as the mothers in question, whose friendship is torn apart by the fatal accident of one of their children and the effect it has on the two families. Blame, suspicion and a continuing run of strange events / bad luck(?) begin to mount. This is a decent, tightly-plotted psychological thriller, which unfortunately degenerates into over-the-top silliness towards the end.
Kung Fu Panda 4 - We don't need any more Kung Fu Panda films, but they're still fun. I missed the rest of the Furious Five, but the always-likeable Awkwafina steps in as Jack Black's sidekick as the two battle to stop evil sorceress Viola Davis from acquiring the powers of past kung fu masters and taking over the world. Po's dads follow along to help too, and provide many of the film's highlights.
The First Omen - A surprisingly good prequel to the 1976 Antichrist horror, managing to maintain the feel of the original while having a lot more to say about social issues - such as the Church's struggle for relevance in an increasingly secular society, and the treatment of women in one of the oldest patriarchal institutions. I figured out what was going on before the reveals, but it was well enough done that it didn't matter.
Civil War - This is not, as the trailer suggests, a big budget actioner about the US at war. It's a much more interesting, small-scale, character-driven film than that, as we might expect from Alex Garland. It's a study of the effect war has on the journalists who document it from the battlefield. The war could be anywhere; the fact it's in the US and the reasons behind it are almost irrelevant.
Challengers - When did tennis get this sexy? Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist play the tennis superstars / rivals / love triangle. A lowly challenger match frames the story, and we jump back in time through a series of flashbacks to see how they got there. The finale drags on slightly too long, but that's a minor fault (and kind of like many tennis matches anyway) in an otherwise gripping and entertaining romp.
The Fall Guy - I'm not familiar with the TV series, so I was only watching this on its own merits. It's essentially a rom-com, packed with a ton of action, a ridiculous missing person mystery and a ton of movie-making in-jokes. It sets out near the start exactly what it's going to do, and then does it brilliantly, thanks in no small part to a witty script and two great leads in Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - PotA continues to be a solidly reliable franchise and nothing more. After his village is devastated, Noa (Owen Teague) heads on a journey to a city of apes (and William H. Macy). A slow start with too much unnecessary world (re-)building eventually builds to a cracking good final hour. An excellent 90-minute film, stretched out to 145 minutes.
IF - There's something Toy Story-esque about this neurotic collection of Imaginary Friends (IFs), left forgotten after their kids grew up. Ryan Reynolds and young Cailey Fleming try to help them find new meaning. It's a curious idea, with a fair amount of charm and a few tear-jerking moments, but often feels a bit forced and suffers from the perennial problem that real kids don't talk and act like Hollywood-scripted kids.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth star in this smashing prequel to 2015's Fury Road, and it's every bit as good (They work great as a double bill). Mad Max films are never going to be an intellectual affair, but there's plenty enough story and character drama surrounding the high octane action to sustain the 148-minute running time.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire - That kind of... left me cold. Waaay too much teenage angst, and not nearly enough laughs. Afterlife wasn't particularly a comedy either, but got away with it in a way this follow-up doesn't. The cast (again a mix of the original gang and the Afterlife newbies are likeable enough, and there are occasional highlights, but on the whole, bustin' did not make me feel good.
The Persian Version - Culture clashes abound in this semi-autobiographical story of a large and chaotic Iranian-American family. Layla Mohammadi is filmmaker Leila, struggling to deal with a career, an unexpected pregnancy, her father's heart attack, her mother's disapproval and learning about her family's secret history. It has a lot of serious points to make, but it's also bright, loud and funny at the same time.
Mothers' Instinct - Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain star as the mothers in question, whose friendship is torn apart by the fatal accident of one of their children and the effect it has on the two families. Blame, suspicion and a continuing run of strange events / bad luck(?) begin to mount. This is a decent, tightly-plotted psychological thriller, which unfortunately degenerates into over-the-top silliness towards the end.
Kung Fu Panda 4 - We don't need any more Kung Fu Panda films, but they're still fun. I missed the rest of the Furious Five, but the always-likeable Awkwafina steps in as Jack Black's sidekick as the two battle to stop evil sorceress Viola Davis from acquiring the powers of past kung fu masters and taking over the world. Po's dads follow along to help too, and provide many of the film's highlights.
The First Omen - A surprisingly good prequel to the 1976 Antichrist horror, managing to maintain the feel of the original while having a lot more to say about social issues - such as the Church's struggle for relevance in an increasingly secular society, and the treatment of women in one of the oldest patriarchal institutions. I figured out what was going on before the reveals, but it was well enough done that it didn't matter.
Civil War - This is not, as the trailer suggests, a big budget actioner about the US at war. It's a much more interesting, small-scale, character-driven film than that, as we might expect from Alex Garland. It's a study of the effect war has on the journalists who document it from the battlefield. The war could be anywhere; the fact it's in the US and the reasons behind it are almost irrelevant.
Challengers - When did tennis get this sexy? Zendaya, Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist play the tennis superstars / rivals / love triangle. A lowly challenger match frames the story, and we jump back in time through a series of flashbacks to see how they got there. The finale drags on slightly too long, but that's a minor fault (and kind of like many tennis matches anyway) in an otherwise gripping and entertaining romp.
The Fall Guy - I'm not familiar with the TV series, so I was only watching this on its own merits. It's essentially a rom-com, packed with a ton of action, a ridiculous missing person mystery and a ton of movie-making in-jokes. It sets out near the start exactly what it's going to do, and then does it brilliantly, thanks in no small part to a witty script and two great leads in Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - PotA continues to be a solidly reliable franchise and nothing more. After his village is devastated, Noa (Owen Teague) heads on a journey to a city of apes (and William H. Macy). A slow start with too much unnecessary world (re-)building eventually builds to a cracking good final hour. An excellent 90-minute film, stretched out to 145 minutes.
IF - There's something Toy Story-esque about this neurotic collection of Imaginary Friends (IFs), left forgotten after their kids grew up. Ryan Reynolds and young Cailey Fleming try to help them find new meaning. It's a curious idea, with a fair amount of charm and a few tear-jerking moments, but often feels a bit forced and suffers from the perennial problem that real kids don't talk and act like Hollywood-scripted kids.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth star in this smashing prequel to 2015's Fury Road, and it's every bit as good (They work great as a double bill). Mad Max films are never going to be an intellectual affair, but there's plenty enough story and character drama surrounding the high octane action to sustain the 148-minute running time.